8 Great Platformers On The Mac App Store

Platform games were among the first games to be designed (after, of course, the simplicity of Pong). Ever since, people have been playing platformers for their low learning curve and, in many cases, their sheer addictiveness. Just because some of the best platform games are more than two decades old (I’m looking at you, Super Mario Bros. 3) doesn’t mean that developers aren’t still doing some impressive and innovative things with the genre.

Today I’ll take a look at eight platform games available on the Mac App Store that are either traditionally rock solid, or bringing something entirely new to the table.

I’ll get this one out of the way up front. We’ve covered Braid in a number of other roundups, so while there’s not much to be said that hasn’t been said already, I simply couldn’t leave it off of a list of great platformers. I first played Braid on the Xbox 360 Arcade, and I love that it’s available on the Mac. It’s an innovative platform/puzzle game that requires heavy thinking and reasoning in order to solve time-control-based puzzles. Time behaves differently in each world, so you’ll use a lot of trial-and-error in figuring out how to complete each level.

Trine is a fantasy platformer that was originally released for Mac via Steam, but is now available as a stand-alone app from the App Store. The game makes use of beautiful environments and three classes of characters (thief, wizard, and knight) to tell a story with immersive game play, excellent voice overs, and an impressive physics engine. Trine doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it most certainly is a specimen of fine platform gaming. Rumor has it that Trine 2 is in development, so keep an eye out for that as well.

Max & The Magic Marker is yet another game that comes to Mac after experiencing success on a console (Wii) as well as iOS. Control Max with the keys and his Magic Marker with the mouse as you collect ink and draw your way through increasingly complex puzzles and stages. The concept of “drawing” your level solutions to puzzles isn’t exactly a new one, but it’s executed very well here. The completion timer adds an increased sense of urgency to complete levels as fast as possible.

This snarky, minimalist platformer title might have you seething with frustration before you experience the satisfaction of success. YPWMI trades fancy graphics and story depth for a simple, Asteroids-esque interface. The concept is straightforward, but the game is incredibly difficult, and based on the App Store comments, I’m not the only one who thought so. You Probably Won’t Make It is an effective time-waster with great music. And it’s cheap to boot.

Also from the Wii, and presumably cashing in on the success of the popular Bit.Trip Beat, Bit.Trip Runner takes the music/rhythm game to the next level by making it a platformer. Unlike Braid or Max & The Magic Marker, Bit.Trip Runner isn’t about problem solving or puzzles. It’s a fast-paced game all about rhythm and timing. Maneuver your 8-bit style character through levels loaded with obstacles to jump over and slide under, while collecting all the goodies along the way. Bit.Trip Runner is loads of fun and probably the most exhilarating game I’ve played on my Mac to date.

Turtix doesn’t really do anything groundbreaking, but it’s definitely a solid platformer. It tells the story of a shamanistic turtle-hero through the use of comic-book-like still images and a series of stages full of classic platformer elements. Work your way through linear levels loaded with visual detail, destroying bad guys, freeing prisoners, and collecting gems.

In Gravity Guy, Miniclip takes the traditional concept of a side-scrolling platformer and literally flips it on it’s head (pardon the pun, I couldn’t resist). What makes Gravity Guy unique is that each level requires you to change the direction of gravity in order overcome obstacles and reach the end. Much like your character in Bit.Trip Runner, Gravity Guy can’t stop running, so the game is all about timing. Gravity Guy has multiplayer functionality up to 4 players, providing quite a unique gaming experience.

NinJump Deluxe is the Mac version of the popular iOS game NinJump. It’s not your typical platformer, in that motion occurs vertically rather than horizontally. Dodging obstacles in this “up-scroller” is tons of fun and the quick paced action makes it a good game to play when you have a few minutes to kill. At a price point only slightly higher than the free iOS version, NinJump Deluxe is a cheap and increasingly addictive game. Backflip Studios has added several extra levels in the Mac version, and has stated that they plan on continuing to release new content.

Conclusion

It’s important to note that several of the games on this list were originally iOS games. Data is already surfacing indicating that iOS devices may be one of the biggest competitors in the mobile-device gaming space, and with many of those games being ported to Mac and even improved on, I no longer think it’s a long shot to expect the popularity and quality of Mac gaming to increase in the coming months.